Spout



Nov. 29, 1966 H. E. JOHNSON 3,288,178

SPOUT Filed May 21, 1,964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. ff/a/mar E. JohnsonQGENT Nov. 29, 1966 H. E. JOHNSON 3,288,178

SPOUT Filed May 21, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. H /a lmar E. JohnsonBY MQW Q6ENT United States Patent Ofiice 3,288,178 Patented Nov. 29,1966 3,288,178 SPOUT Hjalmar Eduardo Johnson, Buenos Aires, Argentina,as-

signor to The Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Mich, a corporation ofDelaware I Filed May 21, 1964, Ser. No. 369,079 Claims. (Cl. 141330) Thepresent invention relates to an article of manufacture, and moreparticularly relates to a spout which may be employed to transfer liquidproducts from plastic containers to bottles or other shaped containers,and may be adapted to serve as a stopper for such shaped containers.

Plastic containers, e.g., sachets, are often employed as containers forliquids of various kinds. Under certain circumstances, the produce mustbe totally withdrawn from the container and consequently, in case it iscorrosive or otherwise undesirable for skin contact, i.e. when it isconcentrated bleach, it is necessary to take careful precautions inhandling the said sachets. Such care is not always successful, however,as the sachets are made of various plastics which have differentstrength characteristics which makes the opening thereof difficult. Itis often necessary to use a pair of scissors or other cutting instrumentto effect the opening of the sachet.

There is a further disadvantage when the product is only partiallyconsumed and it becomes necessary to keep the remainder in storage forfuture use. In such cases, it is customary to pour the product into ajar or some other container which is made of some rigid materialprovided with a suitable stopper. It will be apparent that a funnel maybe required to carry out this operation efficiently, and such funnel isnot always at hand. Attempts were made to obviate this inconvenience byproviding sachets having closure means in order to make the transferenceof products unnecessary. But in practice such products were in generalinefficient and consequently they have not been definitely adopted.

It is therefore seen that the problem has not yet been solved and it isevident that a solution of this problem would induce a more widespreadacceptance and use of plastic containers such as sachets.

The spout of this invention is formed in such a way that it reduces thenecessity of the user handling the sachets or other plastic container inorder to open them, as well as also to empty them into a more aptcontainer for their storage. In order to fulfill this double operation,it is only necessary to take hold of the sachets and without any unduerisk of touching the contents of said sachet, press it lightly againstthe spout. Under these circumstances, and in veiw of the particularformation of the spout, an orifice will be produced in one of the wallsof the sachets, through which contents thereof will flow towards theinside of the final container and with a greatly reduced risk ofspilling. Upon comp-letion of the transfer of liquid from the plasticcontainer to the rigid container, the spout of this invention may thenserve as a stopper for the rigid container.

In its essential craracteristics the spout of this invention comprises atubular element having an upper and lower portion and enclosing aperforated base which is transversely disposed within said tubularelement between said upper and lower protions. A punch projects from thebase and extends past the upper edge of the tubular element. The punchis advantageously formed of a body of rigid material, and has a pointedend. On its exterior surface, the punch has at least one channel whichextends from its base to near its pointed end. The lower portion of thespout advantageously forms a hollow insertion nozzle which is adapted tofit into the mouth of a rigid container. This nozzle is opened in itsfree end and is in communication with the upper portion of the spoutthrough the perforated base. The assembly includes, if desired, aclosing cap adapted to sealingly fit the upper edge of the upper portionof the tubular element.

The invention will be further understood by reference to the attacheddrawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a general perspective view of one embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-section of one embodiment of the spout ofthis invention, when it is seated in operating position in the mouth ofa rigid container and in operative relationship with a sachet, and

FIG. 3 is a view showing the spout, fulfilling the function of pouringfrom a rigid container.

In the figures the same numbers indicate equivalent or correspondingportions or elements.

Referring now to the drawings, it may be seen that reference numeral 11indicates the spout which essentially comprises an upper cup or portion12 defined by a surrounding wall 13 and a base 14 which is perforated,such as is indicated with reference numeral 15.

A punch 16 is formed of a protuberance of rigid material and has apointed end 17 which projects from the center of base 14 and has grooves18 on its external wall. These grooves are directed along thelongitudinal axis of the punch 16 and project from its base up topractically the vertex of the pointed end 17. Another important featureis that said pointed end 17 extends beyond the upper edge 13' of theaforementioned surrounding wall 13. From the base 14, the spout 11extends along a lower portion or insertion nozzle 19 which is simplyformed by an annular wall 20 which defines a central hollow space 21.

On inserting said nozzle 19 in the throat 22 of a container 22, thearticle of this inventionserves to act as either a filling or pouringspout, as desired, with the liquid to be transferred passing throughperforations 15 in base 14.

The spout is adapted to serve as a stopper with a closing cap 23 whichby means of a flexible tongue 24, may, and advantageously does, form aninseparable part of the spout. A ring or annular protuberance 25 isadvantageously positioned on the exterior portion of wall 13, to securethe closure of the closing cap 23.

From what has hereinabove been described and from the drawings, thefunctional behaviour of the proposed spout will be very easy tounderstand. In this respect, on referring to FIG. 2, it may be notedthat on pressing a sachet 26 against spout 11, the point 17 willperforate the exterior wall of the sachet making a hole through whichthe contents will flow, and which will be guided towards the upper cup12 of the stopper 11 and through the openings 15 in base 14, and then,directly towards the interior of the container 22.

At this point, grooves 18 of punch 16 fulfill an important part, due tothe fact that these permit that the liquid be directed directly towardsthe openings 15 without any spilling.

Once the contents of the sachet 26 have been put into another container,said sachet may be taken away from punch 16 to which it was spiked, andconsequently, container 22 may be closed hermetically by means of anadequate movement imparted to closing cap 23, and in the event that itshould be desirable to consume part of the product housed in theinterior of the container, it will only be necessary to incline itsposition, such as is illustrated in FIG. 3, in order that the contentsmay easily flow through openings 15, and as such spout 11 will beconverted in a practical pourer.

In this way, direct contact with the contents will have been avoided,and the fulfilling of what up to now has been a difiicult task will havebeen made easy and quick.

Preferably base 14 and punch 16, will form an integral and inseparableunit made of a material which is more resistant than that employed tomake cup 12 and nozzle 19, which, preferably, are more elastic and formpart of an independent body from the first mentioned. As a consequence,and in order that there should be a correct interrelationship, the spoutis advantageously provided with an offset portion or shoulder 27, onwhich perforated base 14 will rest and to which it may be convenientlyfixed by an adhesive or other means, e.g. pressure fitting.

The plastic bags or sachets which may be advantageously opened andemptied by the spout of this invention may contain concentratednon-carbonated beverages, concentrated garden chemicals, liquidfertilizers or pesticides, paint colorants, concentrated juicies, liquidfood concentrates, infant feeding formulas, concentrated householdchemicals, liquid soaps, detergents, syrups, tomato paste and the like.

Various modifications may be made in the present invention withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope thereof and it is understood that Ilimit myself only as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A spout comprising a tubular element having an upper and lowerportion, said upper portion having an upper edge; a perforated base,said base being transversely disposed within said tubular elementbetween said upper and lower portions; and a pointed punch, said punchhaving a length and width and an exterior surface and being aflixed toand projecting from said base to a point beyond said upper portion, saidpunch having at least one groove which extends lengthwise on theexterior surface thereof from said base to near the pointed end of saidpunch, said lower portion being adapted to fit in the mouth of a rigidcontainer and said spout including a closing cap capable of pressurematching the upper edge of the upper portion of said spout.

2. Spout of claim 1 wherein the cap is attached to the upper portionthereof by a flexible hinge.

3. Spout of claim 1 wherein the punch and perforated base form anintegral unit.

4. Spout of claim 1 having an interior annular ring against which theperforated base is fitted.

5. Spout of claim 1 which is composed of an organic thermoplasticpolymeric material.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 203,924 5/1878Ladd 14l330 1,680,616 8/1928 Horst 14133O 1,990,949 2/1935 Maull 14l-3302,884,151 4/1959 Biederman 21599 LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary Examiner.

H. BELL, Assistant Examiner.

1. A SPOUT COMPRISING A TUBULAR ELEMENT HAVING AN UPPER AND LOWERPORTION, SAID UPPER PORTION HAVING AN UPPER EDGE; A PREFORATED BASE,SAID BASE BEING TRANSVERSELY DISPOSED WITHIN SAID TUBULAR ELEMENTBETWEEN SAID UPPER AND LOWER PORTIONS; AND A POINT PUNCH, SAID PUNCHHAVING A LENGTH AND WIDTH AND AN EXTERIOR SURFACE AND BEING AFFIXED TOAND PROJECTING FROM SAID BASE TO A POINT BEYOND SAID UPPER PORTION, SAIDPUNCH HAVING AT LEAST ONE GROOVE WHICH EXTENDS LENGTHWISE ON THEEXTERIOR SURFACE THEREOF FROM SAID BASE TO NEAR THE POINTED END OF SAIDPUNCH, SAID LOWER PORTION BEING ADAPTED TO FIT IN